Feast of St. Matthew
September 21, 2015 8:30am
The gospel for today speaks of
Matthew’s call from what was then a dishonorable job.
Matthew was a Jew, collecting
taxes for the Romans from his fellow Jews. He was probably adding surcharges to
the real tax for his own profit.
He was viewed by his fellow Jews as
a sinner, a sinful person.
And yet, Jesus calls him to be an
apostle.
Jesus says, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Jesus’ point is that it is
necessary for us to recognize that none of us is righteous and all of us are
sinners.
From a theological perspective,
we say that we have been made righteous by Jesus.
What this means is that we have
been placed into a right or good relationship with God by Jesus.
It does not mean that we are free
of sin.
In fact, being righteous in that
theological sense is a gift from God that is given on the condition that we
recognize that we are not righteous, that we are sinful and that we need God’s
grace.
This is why we always begin Mass
with a recognition of our sins and our need for forgiveness.
This Penitential Act is not just a
formality or a remnant of a past age when people were too guilt ridden.
And it is not intended to begin
Mass with a downer.
It is intended to be a touch of
realism as we approach God and receive the Lord in the Eucharist.
It is intended to lead us to a
bit more self-knowledge and to remind us to look within ourselves.
It is intended to lead us to
admit our own humanity and need for growth, especially when we might be tempted
to call others sinners as Matthew’s fellow Jews were calling him today.
